{ Then I called them openly.
| Then I proclaimed to them and confided to them in secret.
8-9 These verses indicate that Noah called to his people in many different ways, but they remained defiant. Many commentators take this to mean that Noah became ever more emphatic, first calling them in private, then openly, and then combining the two (Q, R, Z), a pattern also followed by the Prophet Muhammad, who, according to most accounts, did not preach publicly until three years after receiving the first revelation.